Letters to the Editor | Jan. 26, 2023

When the final curtain came down on the remarkable life of Jerry Blavat, “The Boss with the Hot Sauce,” for me it was more than the loss of a friend, or what he used to call us, “brothers from another mother.” The term “we shall never see his like again” is incredibly apt for a man who was dancing and singing from the age of 13 straight through to my conversation with him last week where we were reminiscing about South Philly songs by the Orlons and the Del-Vikings.

Everyone has a different memory of Jerry and what he meant to the community and their family. But for me, Jerry represented the best of Philadelphia — the grit, the caring, the optimism, the “soul,” and most importantly, the music. Since I began my first career as a DJ, to my time as president and CEO at Thomas Jefferson University, Jerry used to say to me, “I’m a much better DJ than you, you may be a better doctor than me.” That was not hyperbole. I believe that Jerry did as much or more to enhance the health of individuals, families, and the Greater Philadelphia area community. I remember talking to someone last summer on a Thursday who was going through a health issue and dealing with the situational depression that went along with that. When I saw her on Sunday, she was a different person, at least emotionally. The cure — not a miracle drug — but an evening of memories at Margate with Jerry.

For me, dealing with the pandemic as the leader of a large health organization and working to protect 30,000 employees during the most difficult time in recent history for those of us in the health-care industry, the weekly Geator Gold Radio session was my psychotherapy. Jerry spent every week during 2020 and 2021 reaching out in a surreal way using music to herald memories of a calmer time, but also in a way that only The Geator could do, leaving everyone listening with an optimistic message. In one of my most difficult weeks, his final song for that week was “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by The Crests. Like any great “doctor,” Jerry was able to pick exactly the right treatment at the right time.

Stephen K. Klasko, board chair, Opera Philadelphia

I appreciate Jenice Armstrong’s Sunday column on the new MLK statue in Boston. I also have mixed feelings about the statue, though I find the higher value in Ms. Armstrong’s column to be the clear priority she places on a multiplicity of other people’s views. For me, that is the true nature of art: that it is a cocreative act between the artist and each viewer, and so is both unique and dynamic through the myriad of individual experiences. Thank you, Ms. Armstrong, for not trying to establish a singular point of view, and so avoiding the oft-seen risk of polarizing opinion around what is a truly cocreative piece of art.

Andy Slettebak, Silver Spring, Md., aslettebak@gmail.com

I would like to correct journalists who keep referring to Social Security benefits as “entitlements.” The program is an earned income benefit into which I contributed 7.5% of my weekly wages and my employer matched with his 7.5% throughout my career. There is no entitlement here.

James McGovern, Palmyra

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